AN 


INAUGURAL  DISCOURSE, 


DELIVERED  BEFORE  THE 


NEW-YORK  HORTICULTURAL  SOCIETY 


THEIR  ANNIVERSARY  MEETING, 


31st  OF  AUGUST,  1824. 


By  DAVID  HOSACK,  M.D.  F.L.S. 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  SOCIETY  ; 
Member  of  the  Horticultural  Society  of  London,  of  the  Agricultural  Societies 
of  Ghent,  Florence,  Philadelphia,  .New-York,  Stc. 


Cura  sit,  ac  patrios  cultu*que  habil usque  locorum; 
Et  quid  qtiseque  ferat  regio.  et  quid  quaeqlle  recuset. 
Hie  segetes,  illic  veniunt  felicius  tivae- 
Arborei  fc-tus  alibi,  atque  iujussa  virr<cunt 
Gramina.    Nome  ftdes.  croceos  ut  Tmolus  odoies 

—  Modes  sua  thura  Sabai  ? 

V  IRG.  G  K0KG1C.S,  lib.  Z 


NEW-YORK  ; 

PRINTED  BY  J.  SEYMOUR,  JOHN-STREET. 

1824. 


WTO 


INAUGURAL  DISCOURSE, 

DELIVERED  BEFORE  THE 

NEW-YORK  HORTICULTURAL  SOCIETY 

AT 

THEIR  ANNIVERSARY  MEETING, 

ON  THE 

31st  OF  AUGUST,  1824. 


By  DAVID  HOSACK,  M.D.  F.L.S. 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  SOCIETY  ; 
Member  of  the  Horticultural  Society  of  London,  of  the  Agricultural  Societies 
of  Ghent,  Florence,  Philadelphia,  .New- York,  Sic. 


Curasit,  ac  patrios  cultusque  habitusque  locorum; 
Et  quid  quaeque  ferat  regio.  et  quid  quaeque  recuset. 
Hie  segetes,  illic  veniunt  felicius  uvae: 
Arborei  fetus  alibi,  atque  injussa  virescunt 
Gramina.    Nonne  vides,  croceos  ut  Tmolus  odores 
1  ■  Molles  sua  thura  Saba?i  ? 

VlRG.  GEORGICd,  lib. 


NEW-YORK  : 

PRISTF.D  BY  J.  SEYMOUR,  J  OHjV- STREET. 
1824. 


OFFICERS 

OF 

Wxt  SltfeWovk  ©orttcultural  Soctctg, 

Elected  on  the  31st  August,  1824. 


David  Hosack,  LL.  D.  President. 

The  Hon.  W.  P.  Van  Ness,  \ 

John  R.  Murray,  >  Vice  Presidents. 

Jacob  Lorillard,  ) 


Samuel  L.  Mitchill,  LL 


D  ^  ^ 


Vegetable  Physiology. 

Peter  Hattrick,  Treasurer. 
N.  H.  Carter,  Corresponding  Secretary. 
Levi  H.  Clark,  Recording  Secretary. 


COUNCIL. 


Martin  Hoffman, 

William  Wilson. 

Michael  Floy, 

Thomas  Hogg, 

William  Pes; lan, 

James  M'Brair, 

William  Curr, 

John  M'Intyre, 

James  Dick, 

Charles  Oakley, 

Israel  Dean, 

Andrew  Clark, 

Col.  George  Gibbs, 

David  S.  Lyon, 

James  Minal, 

Philip  Rhinelander, 

S.  J.  Tobias, 

Clement  C.  Moore, 

Edward  Probyn, 

^  William  Neilson, 

Robert  Gracie, 

Francis  Baretto, 

J.  W.  Francis,  M.  D. 

J.  W.  Schmidt, 

William  Neal, 

John  Groshon, 

Thomas  Pringle, 

John  M'Nab, 

William  Fairbairn. 

William  Wilson, 

Gen.  Morton, 

Wright  Post,  M.  D. 

At  the  anniversary  meeting  of  the  New-York  Horticultural 
Society,  held  on  the  31st  day  of  August,  it  was 

UNANIMOUSLY  RESOLVED, 

That  a  Committee  be  appointed  to  wait 
on  the  President,  and  solicit  a  copy  of  the  learned  and 
eloquent  Discourse  this  day  delivered  before  the  New- 
York  Horticultural  Society :  whereupon  the  following 
gentlemen  were  appointed : 

The  Hon.  William  P.  Van  Ness, 
Martin  Hoffman,  Esq. 
.     James  Buchanan,  British  Consul, 
John  R.  Murray,  Esq. 
Professor  Wright  Post,  M.  D. 
David  S.  Lyon,  Esq. 


LEVI  H.  CLARKE, 

f*.      Recording  Secretary. 


To  David  Hosack,  M.  D.  President  of  the  New-York  Horticultural 
Society. 

New-York,  September  7,  1324. 

Dear  Sir, 

With  great  pleasure  we  comply  with  the  unanimous  wishes 
of  the  New- York  Horticultural  Society,  in  presenting  to  you  the  en- 
closed resolution,  requesting  a  copy  of  your  Discourse,  delivered  be- 
fore them  on  the  31st  ult.  We  cordially  concur  with  them  in  the 
desire  expressed  for  its  publication,  as  well  on  account  of  its  interest 
and  elegance  as  a  composition,  as  from  a  wish  to  have  more  conve- 
nient access  to  the  judicious  propositions  and  valuable  advice  it  sub- 
mits to  their  consideration. 

With  sentiments  of  the  highest  esteem  and  respect, 

WILLIAM  P.  VAN  NESS, 
MARTIN  HOFFMAN, 
JAMES  BUCHANAN, 
JOHN  R.  MURRAY, 
WRIGHT  POST, 
DAVID  S.  LYON. 


To  the  Hon.  William  P.  Van  Ness,  Martin  Hoffman,  Esq.  James 
Buchanan,  British  Consul,  John  R.  Murray,  Esq.  Professor 
Wright  Post,  M.  D.  and  David  S.  Lyon,  Esq.  Committee  of  the 
New-  York  Horticultural  Society. 

New- York,  September  8,  1824. 

Gentlemen, 

The  Resolution  of  the  New-York  Horticultural  Society 
affords  a  high  gratification  to  my  feelings;  but  the  very  flattering 
manner  in  which  you  have  communicated  it,  and  the  character  you 
have  attached  to  the  Discourse  itself,  I  confess  create  in  my  mind 
the  apprehension  that  you  have  excited  expectations  that  cannot  fail 
to  be  disappointed.  I  nevertheless  commit  it  to  your  care,  with  the 
hope  that  the  reader  will  recollect,  that  the  laborious  duties  of  the 
medical  profession  are  to  a  certain  extent  incompatible  with  that 
attention  to  style  and  composition  that  are  usually  looked  for  in  ex- 
ercises of  this  nature. 

I  am,  Gentlemen, 
With  sentiments  of  great  regard  and  respect, 
Your  humble  servant, 

DAVID  HOSACK. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2014 


https://archive.org/details/inauguraldiscourOOhosa_0 


INAUGURAL  DISCOURSE 


Gentlemen, 
Members  of  the  New-York  Horticultural  Society, 

When  I  lately  withdrew  from  the  situations 
I  held  in  some  of  the  literary  and  benevolent 
institutions  of  this  city,  it  was  my  intention  to 
have  retained  none,  nor  to  have  accepted  of  any 
other,  saving  those  immediately  connected  with 
my  profession.  But  the  strong  attachment,  which 
from  my  youth  I  have  cherished  for  botanical 
and  horticultural  pursuits,  in  connexion  with  an 
ardent  desire  to  advance  the  interests  of  this 
excellent  institution,  will  not  permit  me  to  de- 
cline the  honour  you  have  this  day  conferred 
upon  me.  Indeed,  Gentlemen,  I  should  do  injus- 
tice to  my  own  feelings,  and  be  wanting  in  re- 
spect for  the  active  exertions  and  abilities  that 
already  have  signalized  the  members  and  officers 
of  this  Society,  not\  to  express  the  high  gratifi- 

B 


10 


cation  1  feel  in  being  selected  to  the  station  that 
has  hitherto  been  so  honourably  and  usefully 
occupied. 

Horticulture  embraces  three  objects.  1st.  The 
cultivation  of  the  plants  of  the  table,  including 
culinary  vegetables  and  fruits.  2d.  Those  plants 
which  are  considered  as  ornamental.  And  3d. 
Landscape  gardening ;  or,  the  art  of  laying  out 
grounds  in  such  manner  as  may  render  them 
most  conducive  to  utility  and  beauty. 

In  as  far  therefore  as  horticulture  is  not  only 
subservient  to  utility,  but,  like  the  art  of  painting, 
addresses  itself  to  the  taste  and  to  the  imagina- 
tion, it  has  very  properly  been  enumerated  among 
the  liberal  or  the  fine  arts ;  and  accordingly  ranks 
among  the  most  delightful  and  important  of  hu- 
man pursuits.  By  Cicero  it  is  with  great  pro- 
priety enumerated  among  the  most  pleasing 
occupations  of  the  mind,  peculiarly  so  in  ad- 
vanced life ;  at  the  same  time  that  it  is  beneficial 
to  health,  by  the  agreeable  exercise  it  affords  to 
the  body  and  the  mental  faculties. 

In  the  observations  I  propose  to  make  upon 
this  occasion,  I  will  not  intrude,  Gentlemen,  by 
any  detailed  allusions  to  the  history  of  this  art. 


11 

i  might  otherwise,  perhaps,  amuse  you  with  the 
interesting  accounts  given  of  the  gardens  of  an- 
tiquity, as  well  as  of  those  of  modern  times ;  for 
poets  have  ever  derived  their  greatest  beauties, 
and  philosophers  some  of  their  most  interesting 
disquisitions,  from  this  exhaustless  store  of  hu- 
man happiness.  The  works  of  Homer,  Juvenal, 
Virgil,  Milton,  Shenstone,  Thomson,  Cowper. 
Mason,  and  the  Abbe  Delile,  owe  much  of  their 
interest  to  this  delightful  theme. 

But  even  the  charms  that  Milton  has  attached 
to  the  blissful  abode  of  the  first  happy  pair,  or 
with  which  Homer,  in  his  Odyssey,  has  embel- 
lished the  gardens  of  Alcinous,  or  of  Laertes,  shall 
not  divert  me  from  my  present  purpose.  Nor 
shall  I  attempt  to  ascertain  the  horticultural  skill 
that  was  bestowed  upon  the  garden  of  Cyrus, 
that  of  Attalus,  the  celebrated  groves  of  the  Hes- 
perides,  or  the  Hanging  Terraces  of  Babylon. 
Nor  shall  I  descant  upon  the  beauties  of  the 
Academus  ;  of  the  retirement  in  which  Epicurus 
taught  his  philosophy ;  or  that  selected  by  Plato 
on  the  banks  of  the  Ilyssus,  celebrated  as  the 
scene  of  his  Dialogue  on  Beauty.  Nor  shall  the 
magnificence  of  the  gardens  of  Lucullus,  the 


12 


Tusculan  villa  of  the  Roman  orator,  or  Pliny's 
celebrated  retreat  in  the  Appennines,  when 
Rome  was  at  the  summit  of  her  glory,  and  the 
mistress  of  the  world  in  arts  and  arms,  detain  me. 

But  referring  to  Xenophon,  to  Justin,  to 
Virgil,  to  Pausanias,  to  Pliny,  and  to  the  wri- 
ters of  later  days,  Walpole,#  Sir  William  Tem- 
ple, Wheatly,t  and  to  Dr.  Falconer's  His- 
torical View  of  the  Gardens  of  Antiquity,  I 
pass  on  to  remark,  that  very  little  has  been 
effected  in  the  science  of  gardening,  until  the  last 
fifty  years.  Within  that  period,  a  number  of 
individuals,  distinguished  for  their  taste  and  edu- 
cation, have  given  their  attention  to  the  study  of 
this  interesting  subject,  and  especially  in  France 
and  in  Great  Britain,  have  produced  important 
changes  in  every  department  of  horticulture,  in- 
cluding that  branch  of  it  more  especially,  deno- 
minated landscape  gardening.  In  this  list,  the 
names  of  Miller,  Marshall,  Abercrombie,  Brown, 
Nicol,  Repton,  Knight,  and  Loudon,^  as  well  as 
others,  whose  taste  and  opportunities  led  them 

*  History  of  Modern  Gardening,  subjoined  to  his  fourth  volume  of 
the  Art  of  Painting. 

f  Observations  on  Modern  Gardening. 
\  Encyclopaedia  of  Gardening. 


13 

to  the  cultivation  of  this  art,  hold  a  distinguish- 
ed place. 

But  passing  over  the  long  and  justly  celebrated 
national  establishment  of  France,  which,  under 
the  auspices  of  Desfontaines,  Jussieu,  and  Thouin, 
embraces  every  thing  directly  and  remotely  con- 
nected with  this  department  of  knowledge,*  it 
is  to  be  observed  that  it  was  not  until  1804  that 
the  first  association  of  this  nature  was  formed  in 
Great  Britain.  In  that  year,  under  the  patronage 
of  the  late  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  the  Mecaenas  of  his 
age,  the  Earls  Dartmouth  and  Powis,  Sir  James 
Edward  Smith,  Mr.  Thomas  Andrew  Knight,  Mr. 
R.  A.  Salisbury,  and  Mr.  Joseph  Sabine,  the  Hor- 
ticultural Society  of  London  was  instituted  ;  and 
in  1809,  by  the  exertions  of  Dr.  Andrew  Duncan, 
the  able  and  learned  professor  of  the  institutes  of 
Medicine  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  the  Ca- 
ledonian Horticultural  Society  was  formed  in  that 
city.  The  enterprise  and  abilities  of  that  vene- 
rable character,  who,  like  Celsus  of  old,  united 
great  horticultural  knowledge  with  his  profession- 


*  Histoire  et  Description  du  Museum  Royal  d'Histoire  Naturelle; 
par  M.  Deleuze. 


14 

al  attainments,  aided  by  the  Duke  of  Buccleuch, 
the  Earl  of  Wemyss  and  March,  the  Honourable 
Sir  John  Sinclair,  Sir  James  Hall,  Sir  George  Stew- 
art Mackenzie,  and  others  of  the  Scottish  nobility 
and  gentry,  have  done  much  in  directing  their 
countrymen  to  the  cultivation  of  this  art. 

By  the  friendly  intercourse  of  the  members  of 
those  institutions,  and  the  emulation  that  has 
been  excited  among  those  numerous  bodies, 
each  consisting  of  many  hundred  members,  hor- 
ticultural knowledge  has  rapidly  increased,  and 
the  most  beneficial  results  have  been  expe- 
rienced throughout  the  kingdom  of  Great  Bri- 
tain. 

Each  of  these  institutions  has  published  many 
volumes  of  communications,  and  much  has 
thereby  been  effected  by  diffusing  a  knowledge 
of  the  principles  and  practice  of  gardening,  not 
only  inviting  the  attention  of  gentlemen  of  lei- 
sure to  subjects  so  immediately  conducive  to 
the  support  and  happiness  of  man,  but  exciting 
among  the  cultivators  of  the  garden  and  the 
field  a  spirit  of  emulation  that  has  been  imme- 
diately profitable  by  the  addition  it  has  made 


is 

in  the  quantity,  and  the  improvements  it  has  ef- 
fected in  the  quality,  of  the  products  of  the  soil. 

The  London  Horticultural  Society  has  already 
published  several  quarto  volumes,  embracing 
many  important  subjects  in  all  the  departments 
of  culinary,  fruit,  and  ornamental  gardening,  and 
those  too  illustrated  by  coloured  engravings, 
executed  in  a  style  of  magnificence  highly  cre- 
ditable to  the  skill  of  the  artists,  and  alike  ho- 
nourable to  the  institution  and  the  nation. 

The  Scottish  Society  has  also  published  some 
volumes  of  great  merit,  and  although  executed 
with  less  attention  to  the  type  and  elegance  of 
manner,  have  been  the  means  of  spreading  very 
extensively  the  knowledge  both  of  the  principles 
and  the  practice  of  horticulture. 

But  a  very  few  years  have  elapsed  since  the 
Society  now  assembled,  was  first  instituted.  In 
September  1818,  a  small  number  of  the  more 
enterprising  and  intelligent  of  the  practical  gar- 
deners and  nurserymen  in  the  vicinity  of  this 
city,  convened  for  the  purpose  of  introducing 
such  improvements  in  the  cultivation  of  our  ve- 
getable productions,  as  they  conceived  were 
called  for,  and  which,  by  their  education  and 


16 

abilities,  they  felt  themselves  competent  to  effect. 
This  association  was  in  the  first  instance  entered 
into  without  the  most  distant  view  of  attracting 
public  notice.  But  as  these  improvements  pro- 
ceeded, they  acquired  notoriety,  and  the  views 
of  their  authors  expanded  with  their  success. 
They  consequently  became  desirous  that  the 
knowledge  of  the  improvements  they  had  effect- 
ed might  be  preserved  and  extended  for  the 
good  of  the  community.  Many  of  the  most 
respectable  gentlemen  of  our  city,  who  are  in 
the  habit  of  passing  a  portion  of  their  time,  dur- 
ing the  warm  season  of  the  year,  at  their  villas 
in  the  neighbouring  country,  and  who  are  attach- 
ed to  horticulture,  also  joined  in  this  association ; 
and,  that  their  labours  might  become  still  more 
extensively  useful,  as  well  as  for  the  purpose  of 
securing  to  every  individual  the  reward  due  to 
him  for  his  active  and  successful  exertions,  it 
was  now  proposed,  that  they  should  form  them- 
selves into  a  regularly  organized  institution. 
This  was  accordingly  effected. 

Such,  gentlemen,  were  the  humble  and  unos- 
tentatious beginnings  of  the  New- York  Horticul- 
tural Society,  which,  within  a  very  short  space 


17 

of  time,  has  been  the  means  of  increasing  the 
variety,  and  of  improving  the  quality  of  the  vege- 
tables of  our  table;  of  totally  changing  the  face 
of  our  markets ;  of  introducing  a  great  number 
of  valuable  fruits ;  of  augmenting  the  number  and 
variety  of  ornamental  plants,  both  indigenous  and 
exotic,  and  thereby  of  spreading  a  taste  for  this 
innocent,  yet  instructive  and  delightful  source  of 
enjoyment. 

In  the  year  1822  this  Society  made  an  ap- 
plication to  the  state  legislature  for  an  act  of 
incorporation. 

The  legislature,  perceiving  the  beneficial  results 
that  had  been  produced,  and  were  to  be  expected 
to  the  community,  from  an  institution  of  this  na- 
ture, and  as  it  was  the  first  that  had  been  esta- 
blished in  the  United  States,  they  with  great 
unanimity  granted  an  act  of  incorporation,  em- 
bracing all  the  provisions  that  had  been  so- 
licited, and  were  deemexl  necessary  to  carry 
such  institution  into  successful  operation. 

In  conformity  with  this  instrument,  the  gentle- 
men composing  the  association  immediately  con- 
vened, and  appointed  a  committee  to  prepare  a 

constitution  and  code  of  by-laws  for  the  govern- 

c 


18 

Hient  of  the  same.  These  have  recently  been 
completed  under  the  direction  of  the  Society ; 
printed  for  the  use  of  the  members ;  and  are  now 
ready  for  distribution. 

While  these  measures  were  in  progress,  owing 
to  a  train  of  unpleasant  circumstances,  the  re- 
collection of  which  we  hope  may  never  be  re- 
vived, a  few  gentlemen  thought  it  expedient  to 
form  a  new  establishment,  under  the  title  of  the 
New- York  State  Horticultural  Society,  and  pre- 
cisely, as  they  themselves  set  forth,  for  similar 
purposes  in  all  respects  with  those  of  the  original 
institution  now  in  successful  operation,  and  under 
which  we  are  happily  assembled.  I  well  know 
that  the  greater  number  of  those  who  entered 
into  the  new  association  were,  at  the  time  they 
expressed  their  willingness  to  concur  in  its  es- 
tablishment, altogether  uninformed  of  the  ulterior 
views  and  proceedings  of  the  already  existing  so- 
ciety, and  have  since  expressed  their  desire  that 
the  two  associations  may  be  consolidated,  and 
their  entire  willingness  to  lend  their  aid  in  effect- 
ing such  union.  This  event  is  still  to  be  desired ; 
and  on  our  part  I  feel  authorized  to  say,  as 
expressed  in  our  proceedings,  will  be  cheerfully 


19 

acceded  to  upon  terms  of  reciprocity.  The 
views  and  objects  of  the  two  institutions  being, 
in  all  respects,  similar,  one  is  certainly  super- 
fluous, and  creates  a  very  unnecessary  call  upon 
the  contributions  of  a  generous  public.  I  cannot 
therefore  but  indulge  the  belief,  that  the  mem- 
bers of  both  institutions  will  make  the  sacrifice 
of  any  personal  or  interested  considerations, 
and  combine  their  efforts  for  the  purpose  of 
effecting  an  union  so  desirable,  which  promises 
to  be  productive  of  great  good  to  the  community, 
and  an  honour  to  our  city  and  state.  After  these 
preliminary  remarks,  I  solicit  your  attention  to 
the  consideration  of  a  few  of  the  most  prominent 
subjects  which  appear  to  me  to  claim  the  notice 
of  this  Society. 

In  the  first  place,  as  this  Institution  is  altoge- 
ther of  a  practical  nature,  and  has  for  its  objects 
practical  improvements  in  the  culture  of  plants, 
it  is  obvious  that  a  garden  should  be  established 
in  the  vicinity  of  this  city,  as  a  repository  for  the 
vegetable  productions  that  maybe  received  by  the 
Society,  whether  derived  from  foreign  countries,  or 
the  growth  of  our  own  soil.  As  subservient  to  the 
great  purposes  for  which  this  Society  has  been 


20 

instituted,  and  as  already  stated,  these  objects  are 
numerous,  a  piece  of  ground  should  be  select- 
ed, which,  from  its  extent,  variety,  and  situation, 
would  be  capable  of  affording  all  the  advantages 
that  can  be  contemplated  in  an  establishment  of 
this  nature. 

1st.  It  should  be  sufficiently  extensive  to  con- 
tain all  the  variety  of  fruit-trees  and  shrubs,  not 
only  that  they  may  have  all  the  advantages  of 
space  necessary  to  their  growth,  but  that  they 
may  be  exhibited  to  the  visitor  or  cultivator  under 
the  most  advantageous  circumstances.  And  upon 
this  subject  let  me  remark,  that  it  becomes  high- 
ly important,  in  an  institution  of  this  nature,  to 
ascertain  by  a  regular  series  of  observations  the 
characters  of  the  different  fruits  that  are  culti- 
vated, and  to  determine  what  are  the  different 
species  and  varieties  well  established  as  such  : 
for  in  horticulture,  as  in  medicine,  empiricism 
exists,  which  can  only  be  controlled  by  an  asso- 
ciation of  men,  well  instructed  in  their  profes- 
sion, and  who  by  long  observation  and  experience 
have  become  familiarly  conversant  with  the  sub- 
ject. It  is  owing  to  the  want  of  a  proper  exami- 
nation of  fruits  by  competent  men,  that  we  find, 


21 

instead  of  a  standard  nomenclature,  our  cata- 
logues of  fruits  filled  with  an  almost  infinite  num- 
ber of  supposed  varieties,  that  have  no  existence 
but  in  the  whim  of  the  cultivator,  or  which  has 
originated  in  sinister  or  sordid  designs. 

2d.  Compartments  should  be  provided  for  all 
the  esculent  vegetables  of  the  table,  in  whatever 
form  they  may  exist,  whether  gramineous  or  her- 
baceous. 

3d.  Provision  should  be  made  for  the  culture 
of  those  plants  that  are  most  useful  in  medicine, 
or  are  subservient  to  the  arts,  or  are  employed  in 
manufactures. 

4th.  To  these  should  be  added,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  diffusing  a  taste  for  the  productions  of 
nature,  and  of  exciting  the  attention  of  our  youth 
of  both  sexes  to  botanical  inquiries,  and  of  con- 
tributing to  the  beauty  and  elegance  of  the  esta- 
blishment, a  collection  of  the  most  rare  and  orna- 
mental plants  that  can  be  procured,  both  indige- 
nous and  exotic.  While  therefore  we  shall  thus 
have  it  in  our  power  to  bring  into  one  view,  for 
the  information  of  the  stranger  or  for  the  pur- 
poses of  exchange  with  foreign  correspondents 
of  the  Institution,  the  native  productions  of  our 


22 


varied  climate  and  country,  we  should  also  be 
provided  with  suitable  conservatories  for  those 
plants  which  may  be  introduced  from  abroad. 
And  I  may  add,  that  the  buildings  thus  erected 
should  be  constructed  agreeably  to  the  most  cor- 
rect principles  of  architecture;  for  every  such 
edifice,  in  a  place  of  great  public  resort,  will 
necessarily  have  its  influence  in  forming  and  di- 
recting the  general  taste  of  the  country. 

5th.  The  whole  of  this  Institution  should  be 
surrounded  with  a  belt  of  forest  trees  and  shrubs, 
foreign  and  domestic. 

6th.  Connected  also  with  these  means  of  in- 
struction, a  building  should  be  set  apart,  appro- 
priated as  a  Lecturing  Room,  and  supplied  with  a 
Library,  where  access  may  be  had  to  every  work 
of  importance,  in  any  of  the  branches  appertain- 
ing to  the  subjects  of  botany,  horticulture,  vege- 
table physiology,  the  philosophy  of  vegetation,  or 
the  principles  of  agriculture ;  and  in  forming  such 
library,  you  will  not  omit  to  place  upon  its  shelves 
the  Memoirs  and  Transactions  of  the  London  and 
Edinburgh  Horticultural  Societies,  as  well  as 
those  of  France  and  other  establishments  of  the 
like  nature  on  the  continent  of  Europe;  the 


23 

transactions  of  the  agricultural  institutions  of  this 
country — of  the  states  of  Pennsylvania,  New- 
York,  Massachusetts ;  and  the  writings  of  Skin- 
ner, Southwick,  Thacher,  Coxe,  Dean,  Taylor, 
Elliott,  Nicholson,  and  others,  should  be  included 
in  such  collection. 

7th.  Attached  to  this  library,  should  be  a  cabi- 
net set  apart  for  an  Hortus  Siccus,  or  Herbarium, 
and  containing  our  most  valuable  plants,  pre- 
served, arranged,  and  designated,  in  the  manner 
that  has  been  adopted  by  professor  Desfontaines. 
at  the  Jardin  des  Plantes  at  Paris.*  The  remark  I 
have  heard  made  by  that  distinguished  practical 
botanist,  the  late  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  that  even  an 
imperfect  dried  specimen  is  preferable  to  the 
best  painting,  is  a  striking  evidence  of  the  im- 
portance of  such  collection.  Nevertheless,  the 
productions  of  the  pencil,  in  delineating  the  most 
rare  and  valuable  plants  of  the  garden,  should 
be  also  carefully  collected,  as  preparatory  to  the 
publications  which  may  hereafter  issue  from  this 
establishment. 


*  See  Journal  of  the  Horticultural  Tour  in  Flanders,  Holland,  and 
the  North  of  France,  by  a  deputation  of  the  Caledonian  Horticultu- 
ral Society.  1823. 


21 

You  have  wisely  provided  a  lectureship  on 
botany  and  vegetable  physiology.  A  new  sub- 
ject of  inquiry  here  opens  to  our  view,  and 
merits  the  particular  notice  of  this  Society.  I 
refer  to  the  philosophy  of  vegetation,  the  doc- 
trines and  principles  of  agricultural  chemistry,  the 
composition  of  soils,  and  the  operation  of  manures, 
all  which  have  recently  engaged  the  power- 
ful mind  of  Sir  Humphrey  Davy  and  other 
distinguished  men.  These  are  subjects,  which^ 
in  addition  to  the  technical  arrangements  enter- 
ed into  by  the  Lecturer,  will  also  be  embraced 
in  his  course  of  instruction,  and  cannot  fail  to  be 
productive  of  important  results. 

8th.  Another  advantage  which  such  an  esta- 
blishment should  possess,  is  that  of  exemplifying 
the  principles  of  Ornamental  Planting,  or  Land- 
scape Gardening,  The  ground  should  be  select- 
ed of  such  form  and  variety  as  will  admit  of  such 
decoration.  And  in  the  cultivation  of  the  various 
plants  of  the  collection,  their  distribution  may 
ever  be  rendered  subservient  to  this  great  object, 
and  thereby  become  the  means  of  spreading  ex- 
tensively among  our  citizens  a  taste  for  one  of  the 
highest  recreations  that  the  human  heart  can 


25 

receive,  and  one  which  will  go  far  in  the  im- 
provement of  the  moral  principle,  and  in  divert- 
ing the  mind  from  pursuits  of  a  less  worthy  na- 
ture; for  the  mind  that  is  not  actively  engaged 
in  virtuous  pursuits  will  most  probably  be  occu- 
pied with  those  of  a  contrary  character. 

9th.  In  this  Institution,  doubtless,  attention 
will  be  given  in  forming  a  system  of  instruction 
necessary  in  the  education  of  the  complete  gar- 
dener, in  the  manner  that  has  been  constantly 
practised  in  some  of  the  institutions  of  Europe. 
For  this  purpose,  apprentices  should  be  received 
for  a  certain  period  of  time,  affording  them  the 
advantages  not  only  of  being  instructed  in  the 
cultivation  of  all  sorts  of  culinary  and  ornamental 
plants,  but  of  being  made  practically  acquainted 
with  the  different  operations  of  pruning,  trainings 
budding,  grafting,  layering,  and  transplanting,  as 
well  as  the  general  principles  of  ornamental  gar- 
dening. ^ 

A  professor  of  drawing  should  be  attached  to 
the  establishment,  whose  duties  should  be,  not 
only  to  make  delineations  of  any  plants  of  great 
value  or  beauty  that  may  be  introduced  into  the 
collection,  but  who  would  also  deliver  a  course 


26 

of  lectures  upon  his  art,  to  the  pupils  who  mighr 
resort  to  this  establishment  for  instruction. 

Instead  then  of  looking  to  Europe  for  garden- 
ers, which  has  hitherto  been  the  custom  of  our 
country,  we  should  at  such  school  educate  a 
sufficient  number  of  our  own  citizens  to  supply 
all  the  wants  that  may  be  created.  Another  ad- 
vantage that  must  obviously  flow  from  such  an 
organization,  is,  that  the  natives  of  our  soil,  being 
necessarily  better  acquainted  with  the  climate 
and  the  vicissitudes  of  our  seasons,  are  conse- 
quently, with  the  same  opportunities  of  educa- 
tion, better  qualified  for  the  duties  of  their  occu- 
pation than  the  foreign  gardener,  who  requires 
the  residence  of  years  to  instruct  him  in  this  im- 
portant part  of  his  profession. 

II.  Another,  among  the  most  important  subjects 
which  will  invite  our  attention,  is  the  cultivation  of 
our  native  f  ruits. 

When  we  recollect,  to  use  the  language  of  Mr. 
Knight,  that  the  golden  pippin  was  derived  from 
the  austere  crab  of  the  woods,  and  that  the  nu- 
merous varieties  of  the  plum  are  the  produce  of 
the  native  sloe,  we  are  taught  the  importance  of 
giving  our  attention  to  the  numerous  and  hitherto 


27 

unexplored  productions  of  our  native  wilds,  and 
are  encouraged  to  believe  that  many  important 
additions  may  be  made  to  the  table  by  the  en- 
terprise of  our  members  in  changing,  by  culture, 
the  character  of  our  domestic  fruits.  When,  too, 
we  see  that  many  trees  have  been  rendered 
capable  of  ripening  their  fruits  in  climates  colder 
than  their  native  country,  and  that  many  have 
been  assimilated  in  their  habits  to  their  newly 
adopted  climate,  and  as  the  horticulture  of  one 
country  must  essentially  differ  from  that  of 
another,  and  must  vary  in  its  nature  and  objects, 
depending  upon  climate,  soil,  and  other  local 
circumstances,  it  is  important  for  us  to  institute 
a  series  of  observations  and  experiments,  with 
the  view  to  ascertain  how  far  many  plants,  which 
are  now  the  staple  productions  of  the  south,  may 
be  acclimated  to  higher  degrees  of  latitude. 
The  successful  experiments  of  Du  Hamel,  in 
France,  are  very  instructive  upon  this  subject, 
and  will  admit  of  extensive  application  in  the 
United  States. 

The  cultivation  of  the  vine,  in  a  peculiar  man- 
ner, merits  the  notice  of  this  Society. 


28 

This  subject  has  been  frequently  recommend- 
ed by  many  eminent  horticulturists,  and  in  several 
instances  attempted,  but  in  some  without  the 
success  which  had  been  anticipated,  and  this 
probably  owing  to  the  measures  not  being  adopt- 
ed or  understood  that  are  necessary  to  its  ac- 
complishment. Great  praise  is  due  to  Mr. 
Adlum,  a  distinguished  cultivator  of  the  vine  at 
Georgetown,  District  of  Columbia,  to  Mr.  Eichel- 
berger,  of  Pennsylvania,*  to  Mr.  Divers,  of  Char- 
lottesville, Virginia,  to  Dr.  Wilson  of  Clermont, 
and  to  Colonel  Gibbes,  an  agriculturist  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  this  city,  as  well  as  some  other  of  the 
members  of  this  Society,  for  the  attention  they 
have  given  to  the  cultivation  of  the  grape. 

Among  the  wants  in  our  domestic  economy, 
none  are  more  conspicuous  or  lamentable  than 
that  of  some  agreeable  beverage  which  may 
supersede  the  use  of  ardent  spirits,  the  inordi- 
nate and  extensive  use  of  which  has  long  been 
among  the  opprobria  of  our  countrymen.  It  is 
a  common  remark,  and  is  fully  justified  by  the 
experience  of  European  nations,  and  the  high 


*  American  Farmer,  vol.  V.  p.  251. 


29 

authority  of  that  illustrious  writer  upon  political 
economy,  Dr.  Adam  Smith,*  that  the  inhabitants 
of  countries  where  the  vine  is  cultivated  and  the 
juice  of  the  grape  the  common  beverage  of  the 
people,  are  free  from  the  vice  of  intemperance. 
It  is  remarked  by  that  acute  observer,  "  that  the 
inhabitants  of  wine  countries  are,  in  general,  the 
soberest  people  in  Europe.  Witness  the  Spa- 
niards, the  Italians,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the 
southern  provinces  of  France."  "On  the  con- 
trary," he  observes,  "that  in  the  countries 
which,  either  from  excessive  heat  or  cold,  pro- 
duce no  grapes,  and  where  wine  consequently 
is  dear  and  a  rarity,  drunkenness  is  a  common 
vice;  as  among  the  northern  nations,  and  all 
those  who  live  between  the  tropics,  the  negroes, 
for  example,  on  the  coast  of  Guinea."  The 
cheapness  of  wine,  he  adds,  seems,  therefore, 
to  be  a  cause,  not  of  drunkenness,  but  of  sobriety. 
I  was  told  by  the  late  Dr.'Hugh  Williamson,  that 
Mr.  Jefferson  assured  him  that,  during  his  resi- 
dence, as  American  minister,  in  France,  he 
never  met  with  but  one  instance  of  intoxication. 


*  Wealth  of  Nations,  vol.  II.  p.  296. 


30 

An  English  gentleman*  of  great  intelligence, 
who  has  recently  travelled  through  Spain, 
within  a  few  days  informed  me,  that,  with  the 
exception  of  those  who  held  intercourse  with 
British  or  American  seamen,  who  are  in  the 
constant  use  of  spirituous  liquors,  he  never  met 
with  a  drunken  Spaniard. 

It  seems,  therefore,  to  be  equally  the  dictate 
of  patriotism  and  humanity,  to  eradicate  from 
our  country  so  grievous  a  reproach.  This 
Society,  gentlemen,  by  their  attention  to  this 
subject,  may  be  the  means  by  which  thousands 
of  our  fellow-men  may  be  reclaimed  from  a  most 
pernicious  and  disgraceful  vice,  alike  ruinous  to 
domestic  happiness,  and  destructive  of  the  moral 
character  of  the  nation. 

The  question  then  presents  itself,  is  our 
climate  capable  of  affording  the  grape  in  suffi- 
cient quantities  to  furnish  wine  as  the  daily 
beverage  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States? 
or  do  we  possess  resources  for  this  purpose  in 
the  native  fruits  of  our  country  ? 


*  Charles  Waterton,  Esq.  of  Walton  Hall. 


31 

From  the  experiments  already  made  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  this  country,  this  question  may, 
I  believe,  be  answered  in  the  affirmative. 

The  experiments  made  in  the  southern  and 
western  states,  as  we  are  informed  by  Mr. 
James  G.  Hicks,  a  writer  in  the  American  Far- 
mer,* show  that  wines  of  most  excellent  quality, 
both  Claret  and  Madeira  have  been  produced. 
"  I  am  well  convinced,"  says  the  writer,  "  from 
my  experience  in  the  business,  that  a  vineyard, 
in  an  eligible  situation,  well  cultivated,  will 
yield  from  three  to  five  hundred  gallons  to  the 
acre ;  and  one  hand  can  with  ease  cultivate  five 
acres,  except  gathering;  and  I  have  no  doubt 
but  the  wine  would  be  equally  as  good  as  that 
which  is  imported  at  the  same  age.  I  have  sold 
my  wine,  when  only  two  years  old,  for  two  and 
a  half,  and  three  dollars  per  gallon." 

"Should  the  people  of  Kentucky  and  Ten- 
nessee turn  their  attention  to  this  business,  they 
will  not  only  be  enabled  to  stop  the  importation 
of  wines,  but  will  be  enabled  to  furnish  the 
eastern  and  northern  states  with  this  article 


::  Vol.  II.  p.  40V 


32 

cheaper  than  they  can  import  it."  Further  and 
more  recent  observations  made  by  Mr.  Adlum, 
already  referred  to,  by  the  late  Mr.  Thomas 
Roach  of  Hartford,  by  the  sect  of  Harmonists 
from  Suabia,  now  cultivating  the  vine  to  a  great 
extent  in  Indiana,  and  the  extensive  establish- 
ment at  Cacahokia,  now  Illinois,  also  abundantly 
evince  the  capacity  of  our  soil  and  climate  in 
the  production  of  wines  of  the  best  quality  from 
various  grapes,  both  foreign  and  domestic. 

It  is  remarked  by  Mr.  Madison,*  whose  observa- 
tions on  the  subject  of  agriculture,  to  which  he  now 
devotes  his  retirement,  are  no  less  profound  and 
deserving  public  attention  than  were  those  which 
occupied  his  mind  during  his  public  life,  when 
engaged  in  the  weightier  concerns  of  the  nation, 
4i  That  the  practicability  and  national  economy 
of  substituting,  to  a  great  extent  at  least,  for  the 
foreign  wines,  on  which  so  large  a  sum  is  expend- 
ed, those  which  can  be  produced  at  home,  with- 
out withdrawing  labour  from  objects  better  re- 
warding it,  is  strongly  illustrated  by  the  experi- 
ments and  statements  made  upon  this  subject. 


*  American  Farmer,  vol.  V.  p.  63. 


33 

The  introduction  of  a  native  wine  is  not  a  little 
recommended,  moreover,  by  its  tendency  to  sub- 
stitute a  beverage  favourable  to  temperate  habits, 
for  the  ardent  liquors  so  destructive  to  the 
morals,  the  health,  and  the  social  happiness  of 
the  American  people;  and  it  may  be  added, 
which  is  so  expensive  to  them  also:  for,  be- 
sides the  actual  cost  of  the  intoxicating  draughts, 
the  value  of  the  time  and  strength  consumed  by 
them  is  of  not  less  amount." 

It  has  also  been  proposed  by  many  of  our  far- 
mers, and  numerous  experiments  in  various  parts 
of  the  United  States  show  the  propriety  of  the 
suggestion,  to  furnish  a  substitute  for  spirituous 
liquors  by  obtaining,  from  the  fermentation  of 
some  of  the  native  fruits  of  our  soil,  as  from 
those  which  are  now  extensively  cultivated  in 
our  fields  and  our  gardens,  wines  which  might 
take  the  place  of  the  more  expensive  produce 
cf  the  grape.  ^ 

The  apple*  the  pear,  the  blackberry,  the  currant, 
the  raspberry,  the  gooseberry,  and  the  elderberry 


*  See  an  important  communication  on  the  subject  of  domestic 
wines,  by  Dr.  Samuel  L.  Mitchill ;  and  observations  on  tke  same 
subject,  by  Dr.  Rush,  in  the  appendix  to  this  d^conrse. 


34 

have  all  been  successfully  made  use  of  for  this 
purpose  in  various  parts  of  this  country,  and 
wines  highly  agreeable,  obtained  from  these 
fruits,  are  now  prepared  in  considerable  quan- 
tities, offered  for  sale  in  our  cities,  and  when 
fashion,  and  the  patronage  of  influential  indi- 
viduals, and  of  public  institutions  shall  recom- 
mend them  to  our  citizens,  I  have  no  doubt  that, 
with  the  improvements  they  will  receive  in  their 
preparation,  and  which  will  be  proportioned 
to  the  demand,  our  country  will  be  abundantly 
supplied  with  domestic  wines  calculated  to  pro- 
duce all  the  cordial  and  salutary  effects  of,  with- 
out the  evils  arising  from,  the  stronger  wines  of 
Madeira  or  France,  or  the  use  of  ardent  spirits. 

My  time  will  not  permit  me  to  enlarge  upon 
this  interesting  topic. 

In  conclusion,  Gentlemen,  allow  me  here  to 
remark,  that  the  city  of  New- York  possesses 
advantages  and  facilities  for  the  various  objects 
of  our  Institution,  greater  than  can  be  obtained 
in  any  other  part  of  the  union.  By  our  com- 
merce and  our  navy,  we  have  continued  inter- 
course with  every  part  of  the  globe.  The 
gentlemen  employed  in  the  public  service  of 

i 


35 


their  country,  and  in  the  recently  established 
communications  with  the  different  parts  of  the 
world,  are,  for  the  most  part  too,  men  of  ex- 
cellent education  and  inquiring  minds,  and  not 
wanting  in  patriotism,  whether  employed  in  the 
battles  of  their  country,  or  in  cultivating  the  arts 
of  peace. 

Circulars  prepared  under  the  direction  of  this 
institution,  and  placed  in  their  hands  when  they 
depart  from  our  shores,  would  secure  to  us,  in  a 
very  few  years,  the  vegetable  productions  of 
every  part  of  the  habitable  globe,  and  in  the 
intercourse  between  this  city  and  the  other 
parts  of  the  union,  so  unceasing  is  the  communi- 
cation, and  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  that  the 
benefits  we  may  through  these  channels  receive 
in  this  city  and  state  will  immediately  be  diffused 
through  our  common  country. 

But  this  is  not  all.  Science,  which  in  one 
shape  or  another,  grasps^  all  human  improve- 
ments, and  presses  them  into  the  service  of  a 
common  cause,  will  in  return  receive  direct  aid 
from  the  stupendous  artificial  works  now  nearly 
completed  in  this  state  for  the  promotion  of 
trade  and  intercourse.    I  cannot  be  mistaken 


36 

in  my  allusion.  I  speak,  Gentlemen,  of  the 
great  Western  Canal,  and  the  minor  communi- 
cations which  are  connected  with  it.  The  vast 
and  fertile  regions  of  the  west  are  yet  to  be  ex- 
plored by  the  sons  of  genius  and  research.  The 
secrets  of  nature  are  yet  to  be  unfolded.  Her 
hidden  treasures,  her  countless  varieties,  and 
her  unnumbered  beauties  are  yet  to  be  pre- 
sented. 

The  territory  of  the  great  lakes  and  of  the 
western  rivers  is  a  world  of  itself.  How  important, 
then,  that  we  are  thus  approximated  by  the  gi- 
gantic work  which  I  have  mentioned.  Our 
course  is  now  open  to  the  depths  of  the  wilder- 
ness. In  peace  and  in  comfort  we  can  not  only 
visit  the  walks  of  civilization  and  refinement, 
the  towns,  the  villages,  and  the  cities  which  have 
recently  appeared  in  the  west  as  if  they  were 
called  forth  by  the  potent  hand  of  enchantment  ; 
but  we  can  also  gratify  our  curiosity  and  our 
love  of  science,  by  examining  regions  where  the 
footstep  of  the  naturalist  has  never  left  an  im- 
pression, or  science  gleaned  a  treasure.  I  say 
then  that  the  magnificent  internal  improvements 
of  the  state  of  New-York  are  tributary  to  our 


37 

objects.  They  facilitate  the  execution  of  our 
laudable  designs.  They  multiply,  on  a  stupen- 
dous scale,  the  means  of  intercourse,  and  literally 
annihilate  distance  and  expansion  of  territory. 

And  while  on  this  subject,  and  removed,  as  I 
am,  by  my  professional  pursuits,  from  the  sphere 
of  politics  and  the  vortex  of  party  collision,  can 
I  justly  refrain  from  indulging  in  a  passing  ex- 
pression of  my  respect  for  the  statesman  whose 
profound  reflections,  deep  penetration,  and  ener- 
gy of  character  have  been  subservient  to  the 
commencement,  the  prosecution,  and  the  near 
completion  of  these  unparalelled  projects? 

The  name  of  Clinton  is  not  only  endeared  to 
the  votaries  of  science  by  his  devotions  at  her 
shrine,  but  rendered  doubly  so  by  the  indirect 
aid  which  he  affords  to  her  interests  by  his  splen- 
did plans  of  public  policy ;  plans  at  once  great, 
practicable,  and  unrivalled  in  the  age  which  has 
produced  them. 


APPENDIX 


Letter  from  Samuel  L.  Mitchill,  M.  D.  to  David 
Hosack,  M.  D.  on  the  improvement  of  Orchards,  Ap- 
ples, and  Cider. 

New- York,  September  3d,  1824. 

My  dear  Sir, 

Since  the  apple,  as  an  article  for  furnishing 
a  vinous  liquor,  has  been  referred  to  me  for  consideration, 
I  give  you  with  pleasure  my  opinion,  as  lecturer  on  bota- 
ny and  vegetable  physiology  to  the  Horticultural  Society. 
The  tree  affording  this  fruit,  and  the  agreeable  drink  the 
latter  yields  by  fermentation,  have  long  exercised  the 
industry  and  skill  of  man.  And  in  the  convenient  soils 
of  the  middle  latitudes,  many  proprietors  have  considered 
their  culture  as  matters  of  high  moment. 

Nor  is  this  an  object  of  surprise.  The  apple-tree,  in 
my  judgment,  produces  some  of  the  best  fruit  in  the 
world.  Many  varieties  gratify  the  sight  by  their  diver- 
sity of  figure,  size,  and  colour ;  others  satisfy  the  smell, 
by  their  fragrance,  of  a  delicious  quality ;  while  yet  others 
again  recreate  the  palate  with  their  exquisite  flavour. 


40 


The  expressed  juice  is  well  known  in  one  of  its  ferment- 
ing stages  as  cider,  and  in  another  as  vinegar. 

If  there  is  any  room  for  wonder  in  the  case,  it  is  that 
more  stress  has  not  been  laid  upon  the  cultivation  of  the 
apple,  especially  in  our  parts  of  North  America.  It 
seems  to  me  that  the  region  between  James  River  and 
the  Kaatskill  Mountains,  including  New-Jersey  and  all 
the  southern  district  of  New-York,  is  peculiarly  favoura- 
ble to  orchards  of  this  kind.  The  trees  thrive  well ;  are 
long-lived ;  bear  the  heat,  cold,  and  vicissitudes  of  the 
weather ;  run  into  endless  varieties,  which  varieties  are 
perpetually  on  the  increase ;  and  they  bear  grafting 
and  inoculation  to  admiration. 

And  still,  with  so  many  good  qualities,  the  apple  has 
not  risen  so  high  in  public  estimation  as  it  deserves. 
There  are  two  obvious  reasons  for  the  neglect  it  has  ex- 
perienced. 

One  cause,  at  least  among  those  who  speak  the  Eng- 
lish language,  is  connected  with  the  name  it  bears.  The 
word  cider  does  not  convey  to  the  mind  the  idea  of  a 
■wine,  or  vinous  liquor.  However  excellent  it  may  be,  it 
is  consumed  simply  as  cider;  and  is  not  exalted  to  the 
Tank  and  dignity  of  wine.  The  German  tongue  is  more 
happy  in  this  respect ;  for  it  denominates  cider  by  the 
name  of  Jlpfel  ivein,  or  apple  wine.  And  if  we  could 
establish,  from  "  malus,"  the  Latin  name  for  the  apple- 
tree,  or  "  malum,"  an  apple,  such  a  title  as  malic  wine, 
instead  of  cider,  I  am  confident  its  character  and  credit 
would  be  increased. 


41 


The  other  cause  is  the  preference  given  to  the  grape, 
and  its  produce.  The  vine,  which  produces  this  fruit,  has, 
like  the  apple,  branched  into  numberless  varieties,  and 
proved  itself  capable  of  cultivation  over  most  countries  of 
Southern,  and  some  of  middle  Europe.  The  vine  has 
steadily  there  kept  pace  with  improvement  and  civilization. 
The  more  common  forms  of  the  fermented  drink  procur- 
ed from  its  fruit  have  been  deemed  necessary  to  life ; 
while  the  more  exquisite  modifications  are  classed  among 
the  most  precious  luxuries.  It  has  also  gained,  and  de- 
servedly, the  consideration  due  to  a  valuable  and  impor- 
tant medicine.  In  addition  to  the  intrinsic  worth  of  this 
product,  which  may  be  called  "  grape  wine,"  or  "  wine 
of  the  grape,"  our  manners,  habits,  and  customs,  so  much 
resemble  those  of  the  people  from  whom  we  have  de- 
scended, that  we  can  hardly  be  friendly  or  sociable  with- 
out it. 

Attempts  were,  soon  after  the  settlement  of  certain  co- 
lonies, made  to  render  this  country  independent  of  all 
others,  by  rearing  and  dressing  the  vine.  Yet  the  pro- 
ject, though  urged  by  its  advocates  early  in  the  seven- 
teenth century,  at  least  two  hundred  years  ago,  has 
hitherto  been  carried  but  partially  into  execution.  This 
has  probably  arisen  from  thcgreat  ease  with  which  wine 
has  been  imported  from  foreign  ports  and  places ;  and 
from  the  readiness  with  which  our  bread-stuffs,  fish,  and 
other  kinds  of  food,  are  exchanged  for  this  sort  of 
drink. 

I  am  satisfied,  from  long  and  extensive  observation, 
that  our  country,  south  of  the  latitude  of  about  forty-one 

F 


42 


degrees,  or  perhaps  a  little  more,  will  sustain  the  grape- 
vine. The  fruit  produced  in  the  county  of  New-York 
and  its  vicinity,  is  abundant  and  delicious.  The  liquor  » 
prepared  by  Mr.  Legaux,  from  his  vineyard  near  Phila- 
delphia, proves  the  vine  to  afford  good  fruit.  The  like 
favourable  report  has  been  made  of  the  Swiss  settlement 
at  Vevay,  under  John  James  Dufour  and  his  associates. 
And  more  recently,  Thomas  Worthington,  Esq.  has  pro- 
duced for  our  tasting  an  elegant  wine,  partaking  of  the 
qualities  uniting  claret  to  burgundy,  from  his  own 
plantation  in  the  state  of  Ohio.  The  publication  pro- 
mised by  William  Lee,  Esq.  a  gentleman  well  acquaint- 
ed with  the  cultivation  of  the  vine,  and  especially  in  the 
tracts  watered  by  the  river  Garonne  in  France,  may  be 
expected  to  contain  the  most  correct  and  recent  informa- 
tion on  the  subject. 

But  it  is  not  to  exotic  vines  only  that  we  may  look. 
Our  indigenous  species  and  varieties  promise  something 
valuable  by  culture.  The  scuppernong  of  North  Caro- 
lina, from  the  place  where  the  river  Roanoake  empties 
into  the  Sound,  is  already  known  and  approved.  The 
luxuriance  of  the  plants  in  Alabama,  may  be  understood 
by  Mr.  N.  Bicknell's  letter,  of  a  late  date,  from  Clarkes- 
ville.  "  The  grape-vines  grow  to  an  enormous  size,  and 
rise  to  the  tops  of  the  tallest  pines.  I  have  seen  them  as 
large  as  my  thigh,  ten  feet  from  the  ground.  In  an  ac- 
count I  read  a  few  days  since  of  the  progress  of  the  vine- 
cultivation  in  Pennsylvania,  it  is  stated  that  cuttings  are 
planted,  which  bear  a  few  grapes  the  third  year.  I  was 
conversing  with  a  gentleman  here  on  the  subject,  who 


43 


informed  rue,  that  learning;  a  g»aft  would  take  on  |he 
vine,  he  dug  up  some  vines  in  the  woods,  set  them  out, 
and  grafted  them ;  and  that  one  of  them  produced  two 
bunches  the  first  year,  and  bore  abundantly  the  second. 
There  is  a  native  kind  here,  of  delicious  flavour,  having 
tartness  enough  to  prevent  cloying  the  appetite.  The 
bunches  are  very  long,  and  three  hundred  and  sixty-four 
grapes  of  a  large  size  were  counted  upon  one  of  them. 
I  wish  it  could  be  ascertained  whether  grapes  take  the 
graft,"  &c. 

I  consider  it  perfect!}'  practicable  for  ivine  of  the  grape, 
both  of  the  foreign  and  domestic  stocks,  to  be  produced 
in  the  proper  soils  and  climates  of  the  United  States, 
whenever  the  agricultural  citizens  shall  turn  their  atten- 
tion that  way.  If  I  should  hesitate  or  object  to  this  mode 
of  improving  land,  it  would  be  upon  other  ground.  I 
have  ever  considered  a  country  abounding  in  grass  and 
grain,  as  affording  the  greatest  amount  of  enjoyment  to 
those  who  do  the  work.  The  beast  and  his  master  are 
more  plentifully  fed.  The  abundance  which  passes  from 
the  field  into  the  barn  and  the  granary,  shows  itself  in 
the  number  and  fatness  of  the  animals,  in  the  excellent 
condition  of  buildings  and  fences,  in  the  comforts  and 
even  elegancies  of  the  mansion,  and  in  the  income  and 
credit  of  the  owner.  This  association  of  a  grazing  and 
bread-stuff  culture  with  the  maximum  of  enjoyment  for  a 
free  and  republican  people,  is  almost  indelible  in  my 
mind.  Every  additional  acre  thus  improved  is  an  addi- 
tional evidence  of  prosperity,  in  my  sense  of  the  word  ; 
and  every  acre  taken  from  this  culture,  and  turned  to 


44 


something  else,  even  to  the  culture  of  the  vine,  may  be 
considered  as  withdrawn  from  the  more  interesting  busi- 
ness of  yielding  food  and  its  accompaniments. 

The  planting  of  the  apple-tree  is  not  liable  to  this  re- 
mark. It  is  consistent  with  the  full  exercise  of  the 
plough  and  the  hoe,  the  scythe  and  the  flail,  the  mill  and 
the  tannery.  The  manifold  uses  of  this  fruit  are  universally 
known.  How,  nevertheless,  can  I  forbear  to  mention  the 
Swaar-  apple  of  Poughkeepsie,  the  Spitzenbergh  of  Kings- 
ton, and  the  Pippins  of  Newtown  ?  New-Jersey  has  be- 
come famous  for  the  cider  of  Newark.  Virginia  is 
proud  of  her  Hughes'' s  crab.  New-York  dwells  with  sa- 
tisfaction upon  the  praises  of  Paine's  red-streak :  and  our 
fellow-citizen,  William  Cumberland,  has  been  specially 
occupied  for  a  considerable  time  in  practical  trials  to 
bring  cider  to  that  degree  of  purity  and  excellence,  enti- 
tling it  to  the  appellation  of  apple  wine. 

I  really  wish,  that  farmers  would  turn  their  thoughts 
more  seriously  to  the  apple,  and  its  vinous  products. 

The  points  more  immediately  worthy  of  observation* 
are,  among  others,  the  following : 

1.  The  selection  of  the  best  fruit  for  making  the  parti- 
cular ciders. 

2.  The  rearing  of  a  sufficient  number  of  trees,  to  pro- 
duce a  good  vintage. 

3.  The  securing  thereby  the  ripening  of  the  apples,  at 
the  same  time,  and  at  the  proper  season. 

4.  The  separation  of  the  select  apples  from  all  unripe 
ones,  and  from  all  acerb  varieties. 

5.  The  removal  of  all  dirt  and  heterogenous  matters. 


45 


6.  Attention  to  the  clean  and  inodorous  condition  of 
the  casks  and  vessels. 

7.  Proper  attention  to  the  process  of  fermentation,  that 
it  be  checked  by  sulphureous  fumes,  or  by  cool  vaults, 
before  it  goes  too  far. 

8.  The  construction  of  cellars  or  recesses  along  side- 
hills  or  slopes,*for  keeping  and  ripening  the  liquor. 

9.  Due  attention  to  fining,  racking,  decanting,  and 
precaution  requisite  for  rendering  it  as  complete  as  its 
nature  will  admit. 

Whenever  the  state  of  society  shall  arrive,  and  I  hope 
it  is  not  very  remote,  when  the  apple  shall  receive  that 
culture  and  management  of  which  it  is  susceptible,  there 
will  be  produced  among  ourselves  liquors  or  drinks  far 
superior  to  the  greater  part  of  the  imported  wines,  and 
approaching,  with  due  care  and  art,  the  virtues  of  the 
most  highly  esteemed  and  fashionable  of  them  all. 

I  avail  myself  of  this  opportunity  to  congratulate  you 
on  the  good  already  done  by  the  members,  and  the  pros- 
pect of  an  enlargement  as  well  as  a  continuance  of  their 
useful  labours  :  and  I  conclude  my  communication  by  a 
renewed  assurance  of  my  good  feeling  and  high  regard. 


SAMUEL  L.  MITCHILL, 


46 


Extract  from  Observations  on  the  Domestic  Wines  of  the 
United  States,  by  the  late  Dr.  Rush.* 

"  It  is  to  be  lamented  that  the  grape  is  not  yet  suffi- 
ciently cultivated  in  our  country,  to  afford  wine  for  our 
citrzens  ;  but  many  excellent  substitutes  may  be  made  for 
it,  from  the  native  fruits  of  all  the  states.    If  two  barrels 
of  cider,  fresh  from  the  press,  are  boiled  into  one,  and 
afterwards  fermented,  and  kept  for  two  or  three  years  in 
a  dry  cellar,  it  affords  a  liquor,  which,  according  to  the 
quality  of  the  apple  from  which  the  cider  is  made,  has 
the  taste  of  Malaga  or  Rhenish  wine.    It  affords,  when 
mixed  with  water,  a  most  agreeable  drink  in  summer. 
I  have  taken  the  liberty  of  calling  it  Pomona  Wine. 
There  is  another  method  of  making  a  pleasant  wine  from 
the  apple,  by  adding  four  and  twenty  gallons  of  new 
cider  to  three  gallons  of  syrup  made  from  the  expressed 
juice  of  sweet  apples.    When  thoroughly  fermented,  and 
kept  for  a  few  years,  it  becomes  fit  for  use.    The  black- 
berry of  our  fields,  and  the  raspberry  and  currant  of 
our  gardens,  afford  likewise  an  agreeable  and  wholesome 
wine,  when  pressed,  and  mixed  with  certain  proportion? 
of  sugar  and  water,  and  a  little  spirit,  to  counteract  the 
disposition  to  an  excessive  fermentation.    It  is  no  objec- 
tion to  these  cheap  and  home-made  wines,  that  they  are 
unfit  for  use  till  they  are  two  or  three  years  old.  The 
foreign  wines  in  common  use  in  our  country,  require  not 
only  a  much  longer  time  to  bring  them  to  perfection,  but 
to  prevent  their  being  disagreeable  even  to  the  taste." 

*  See  his  Inquiry  into  the  effects  of  ardent  spirits  upon  the  human 
body  and  mind.   p.  1 7. 


1 


\ 


